The Corozal District is located 85 miles from Belize City, bordering Mexico on the north and built on the shoreline of Chetumal Bay.

Corozal District has:

• a population of 10,000;
• an area of 718 square miles;
• an economy based on the sugar industry.

The residents of Belize's most northerly district are primarily Hispanic, most speaking both Spanish and English, who have built their homes on the foundations of the Mayan ceremonial center of Santa Rita.

During the mid 1800's, there were a series of massacres of Mestizos and whites by enslaved Indians which occurred throughout Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, ending up with the Caste War. Thousands of Mestizos and Indians refugees fled to the south to what was then British Honduras looking for safety. They brought with them expertise in farming. Today their descendants make up a majority of the population of Corozal.

At the time of the arrival of the refugees in Belize, the mahogany and logwood exports were declining. These refugees were experienced farmers and soon Belize began exporting sugar to England with a rise in the production by mid 1860's to one million pounds per year. This required additional processing capability and the Libertad factory was built in Corozal, allowing the sugar production to continue to increase.

The sugar cane produced in Belize is noted for its high sucrose content,the highest in the world, due to the climatic conditions and soil fertility. In the 1970's, the US demand for sugar fell causing the closing of the Libertad factory. Today sugar cane is still grown in Corozal, but processed in the Orange Walk District.

The word Corozal was a derivation from the Spanish name for the cohune palm tree, considered by ancient Mayas as a symbol of fertility.